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Location: BC, Canada.
Posts: 1,584
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Ape to Jacobsen Lake Traverse July 2015
In the spring, Sean and I began talking about a fun summer outing. A fly in trip to Ape Lake was suggested, so we began researching and making plans. We put a call out inviting more people to cut costs, but this complicated weight requirements. I suggested a traverse to Jacobsen Lk, since it’s lower and they can take more weight from there. (Turned out we still needed two planes to get picked up anyway). People were skeptical of the traverse. Neither pilot had heard of anyone doing it, and one has worked in the area for around 25 years. Nobody here is claiming a "first traverse," although clearly it's not done very often. However, it looked doable to us, so we did it.
June 29- We caught an evening flight from Nimpo. Along the way the pilot did a dippsy doodle around Hunlen Falls and Turner Lake in Tweedsmuir Park. It was a nice flight, and most of us had our cameras out. Soon after we landed we looked for a camp, and came across grizz tracks. Sean set up an impressive food-hang among some gangly trees.
Turner Lake and Hunlen Falls from air
Grizz tracks near camp
View of Jacobsen Peaks from camp
June 30- Woke up to lots of cloud, so put off plans to ascend Musician Mtn. We walked over to Fyles Glacier for some up close pics. Anthony and I wanted to get onto the glacier and have a look around, while the others walked over to the shore of Fyles Lake (what I'm calling the lake that has formed at the snout of Fyles glacier). As this happened rain and hail began, and both groups retreated to camp. I clumsily dropped a water bottle into a crevasse. We were almost able to retrieve it, but felt it wasn’t worth the risk. It’s a clear glow-in-the-dark Nalgene in case anyone sees it floating around Fyles Lk one day.
As a budding glaciologist, Anthony should know better than to stand there.... lol
Poet and Musician Mtn from Fyles Glacier
Back at camp we took rest and ate, waiting for weather to calm. Once it did, Stu and Adrien wisely saved their energy for next day's bushtivities. Anthony and Sean joined me on an ascent of a 6600 ft highpoint between Fyles Glacier and Ape Glacier. This took longer than expected, but with the weather clearing views of the peaks around Fyles Gl were pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot my other water bottle on the summit… Don’t exactly know how this happened as I’ve had this particular bottle for probably 10 years. It’s blue. Luckily, Sean had one I could borrow for the rest of the trip.
Fyles glacier and lake below. Borealis glacier in the middle with Throwback Mtn on left and Poet Peak on right. Icarus in middle background. Couple days later found Sean and I on its sub-peak
July 1st- Canada Day. This was a difficult but rewarding day. There is no easy travel around here, and ascending 4100 ft to Musician Mtn from Ape Lk is no exception. Once into the alpine travel is straight forward, with some class 2/3 to the summit. But gaining the alpine from the lake requires some heinous bushwhacking through dense forest (wasn’t too bad) and alder. It was tough going. Once in the alpine, Anthony, Stu, and Sean decided to head up the face and gain the ridge more directly. Adrien and I continued with an ascending traverse and gained the south ridge closer to Symphony Pass. From there it was a long enjoyable scramble to the summit. As a wannabe rock star I was pleased to stand on a summit called “Musician Mtn," and rocked out on my ax for a photo op. Views were ridiculous. We saw some goats.
Fyles Glacier from the steep south slopes of Musician Mtn
Fyles, Snowside, and Iroquois all prominent
Rockin on Musician Mtn...
Ape Lk and glacier, Jacobsen Peaks, etc...
Sean, Stu, and Anthony
An unnamed lake north of Ape Lk and below Painter Pk. Talchako big on right. Horribilis on left of valley
Views were excellent in all directions. The pics really just give a taste. We could see Monarch and Waddington in the distance. The best views were south over the Monarch Icefield.
Lombroso and Painter Pks are also worthwhile (though much diminished from Musician) objectives from Symphony Pass. We weren’t really feeling it, though, having started at the crack of 9:30am and knowing we had a bunch of bush to bash on the way down.
On descent Stu and I opted to take a stream gully directly down to the north shore of Ape Lk. The going was really good for a while, but then… yup, bushwack. Travel on the north shore is very difficult. I got stung in the neck by a wasp and crushed my sunglasses (but later fixed them with a band-aid). At one point I was bent over fighting off some branches and looked up to only see Stu’s ass. I thought, “where’s the rest of him? No please no the alder has cut him in half?!” I realized he was literally crawling through a tight gap in the alder. Phew… it’s only bushwacking and not an alder slaughter! The three others fared no better, and there was lots of cursing by all. Observing his scratched arms, Sean remarked that he looked like a self-harmer. But joy trumps pain and we felt great about the day we had. The full moon rose that night and we had a fire.
July 2nd- As part of the trip, I knew I wanted to try to get to Polar Bear Lk and maybe ascend a peak near it. Four of us left that morning with a vague plan to get there. Adrien wanted to relax and hang near camp. A stop was made at Fyles Lk, since the first visit had been rainy. A beautiful sandy beach is accessible. It’s a cool place to be. Anthony decided to chill there for a while and wait for some calving. Later he went over to Ape Gl and also scoped out some of the route for the next day’s trip toward Jacobsen Lk. The three of us carried on, but were stymied by a raging creek flowing down from the Borealis Gl. It would have been extremely dangerous to cross, so we walked up along side it into the valley between Poet and Throwback Pks. It was possible to cross up high, but by this time we decided to explore this valley instead. Stu had had enough, and after getting some up close pics of the Borealis Glacier, he retreated back towards camp. Sean and I continued north up the valley and gained a north-south trending ridge off of Poet Pk, where we got some pretty decent views of the area. We also noticed we could descend the ridge and cross the Borealis and ascend Icarus Mtn without too much difficulty. We passed on the true summit and were satisfied to top out on a subpeak on the east ridge. Poet’s north face was truly impressive, as were the sharp spires of the Edward’s Range (Blackfly to Walrus etc…) This was our turn around point, and we started the long walk back to camp, happy that we managed a whole day’s hiking without taking our boots off for a creek crossing.
Trying for a cool reflection shot....
I love this shot from the east ridge of Icarus. Of interest was the sink-hole or moulin bottom left that appeared to be draining the Borealis Glacier.
Sean is in this pic somewhere. It's a rugged ridge between Poet Pk and Second Fiddle. Talchako at centre.
Back in the valley. My water bottle is on that gentle summit somewhere
July 3rd- In the planning process, we weren’t sure if we’d budget one or two days to get to Jacobsen Lk. After viewing the lay of the land, we opted for two, and to camp somewhere along the way. We set out at mid-morning with loaded packs under clear hot skies. The highlights of this traverse were more great scenery, especially of a beautiful turquoise lake below Mt Jacobsen. Waterfalls dropped into the lake. Following an obvious bear trail through thick forest was refreshing, because we were actually on a trail. We wondered for how many years bears had passed through the area. Camping on the moraine within stones throw of huge Jacobsen Glacier was awesome. The mineral veins in bedrock beside rugged Witch Lk (not sure about this name) were really cool. On the other hand, the challenges of this traverse are creek crossings, bush-wacking, route finding through forest and class 3 terrain, slabby rock, and at this time of year, incessant insects. I had the pleasure of stepping on a wasp nest and got stung on both calves. We traveled for about 8-9 hours and made it about 2/3rds of the way to Jacobsen. Camp beside a couple tarns that night was beautiful. Tent spots were hard to come by, though, so Sean bivied under the moon and stars. He asked to borrow my pillow but I said no. I felt a bit bad until I heard him snoring soundly 15mins later.
One of many creek crossings
Throwback, Poet, and Musician Mtns
Throwback to Lombroso. Ape Lk now in the distance. The scale here is massive, even though things look close. This lake in the foreground was a real treat.
Our route took us alongside the massive Jacobsen Glacier
A view from camp on our last night. We could throw rocks onto the glacier from here. My pics did not turn out well though... Mt's Griffiths and Beezlebub on right
July 4th- We had a tentative pick up time from Jacobsen Lk arranged for 5pm. We made bets on how long the rest of the trip would be. I honestly can’t remember who won, but probably Stu, who seemed to win all the contests, like “land the rock on the ice-berg.”
Our first views of Jacobsen Lake and the terminus of the glacier were pretty rewarding. At one point we all stood pretty for a group photo. The shores of the lake are mostly steep or bushy, but we found a suitable place for pick up and waited for our planes. Sean was able to be in touch with Tweedsmuir Air and they came a bit earlier than expected. While waiting I learned from these intelligent gentlemen about various ice cream flavours and the hottest actresses.
We were pretty excited to be near our end point and to show off our sweaty armpits. Getting down to the shore would not be straight forward, though.
Yay! Finally at the shore of Jacobsen Lk. Felt good to be there. Having to wait a couple hours for a lift wasn't too bad....
The flight back to Nimpo was beautiful, although a bit rough in the little Cessna to start as we fought off a head wind. I’ve flown in a few small planes, but never got noxious like this. Thankfully I managed to hold down all my recent dehydrated meals and oatmeal. While marveling at the scenery I was really hoping I wouldn't be the guy that puked in the plane. Being nauseous earned me a nice cold Ginger Ale back at the lodge, though, so that was nice. And Anthony, being the kind and helpful dude he is, brought me a glass of water, and Adrien gave me some kind of dissolving electrolyte tablet. Sean took sympathy by asking for the $340 bucks I owed him. We said good-bye to Adrien, who usually shakes with two hands and who has friends in the area. Good fellas…
In Williams Lk the reeking crew of us ordered pizza. I’m guessing that after checking their phones Sean, Anthony, and Stu stopped at DQ for blizzards, and so Stu could claim his contest prizes.
This is a link to Stu's photos:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskf87GX7
June 29- We caught an evening flight from Nimpo. Along the way the pilot did a dippsy doodle around Hunlen Falls and Turner Lake in Tweedsmuir Park. It was a nice flight, and most of us had our cameras out. Soon after we landed we looked for a camp, and came across grizz tracks. Sean set up an impressive food-hang among some gangly trees.
Turner Lake and Hunlen Falls from air
Grizz tracks near camp
View of Jacobsen Peaks from camp
June 30- Woke up to lots of cloud, so put off plans to ascend Musician Mtn. We walked over to Fyles Glacier for some up close pics. Anthony and I wanted to get onto the glacier and have a look around, while the others walked over to the shore of Fyles Lake (what I'm calling the lake that has formed at the snout of Fyles glacier). As this happened rain and hail began, and both groups retreated to camp. I clumsily dropped a water bottle into a crevasse. We were almost able to retrieve it, but felt it wasn’t worth the risk. It’s a clear glow-in-the-dark Nalgene in case anyone sees it floating around Fyles Lk one day.
As a budding glaciologist, Anthony should know better than to stand there.... lol
Poet and Musician Mtn from Fyles Glacier
Back at camp we took rest and ate, waiting for weather to calm. Once it did, Stu and Adrien wisely saved their energy for next day's bushtivities. Anthony and Sean joined me on an ascent of a 6600 ft highpoint between Fyles Glacier and Ape Glacier. This took longer than expected, but with the weather clearing views of the peaks around Fyles Gl were pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot my other water bottle on the summit… Don’t exactly know how this happened as I’ve had this particular bottle for probably 10 years. It’s blue. Luckily, Sean had one I could borrow for the rest of the trip.
Fyles glacier and lake below. Borealis glacier in the middle with Throwback Mtn on left and Poet Peak on right. Icarus in middle background. Couple days later found Sean and I on its sub-peak
July 1st- Canada Day. This was a difficult but rewarding day. There is no easy travel around here, and ascending 4100 ft to Musician Mtn from Ape Lk is no exception. Once into the alpine travel is straight forward, with some class 2/3 to the summit. But gaining the alpine from the lake requires some heinous bushwhacking through dense forest (wasn’t too bad) and alder. It was tough going. Once in the alpine, Anthony, Stu, and Sean decided to head up the face and gain the ridge more directly. Adrien and I continued with an ascending traverse and gained the south ridge closer to Symphony Pass. From there it was a long enjoyable scramble to the summit. As a wannabe rock star I was pleased to stand on a summit called “Musician Mtn," and rocked out on my ax for a photo op. Views were ridiculous. We saw some goats.
Fyles Glacier from the steep south slopes of Musician Mtn
Fyles, Snowside, and Iroquois all prominent
Rockin on Musician Mtn...
Ape Lk and glacier, Jacobsen Peaks, etc...
Sean, Stu, and Anthony
An unnamed lake north of Ape Lk and below Painter Pk. Talchako big on right. Horribilis on left of valley
Views were excellent in all directions. The pics really just give a taste. We could see Monarch and Waddington in the distance. The best views were south over the Monarch Icefield.
Lombroso and Painter Pks are also worthwhile (though much diminished from Musician) objectives from Symphony Pass. We weren’t really feeling it, though, having started at the crack of 9:30am and knowing we had a bunch of bush to bash on the way down.
On descent Stu and I opted to take a stream gully directly down to the north shore of Ape Lk. The going was really good for a while, but then… yup, bushwack. Travel on the north shore is very difficult. I got stung in the neck by a wasp and crushed my sunglasses (but later fixed them with a band-aid). At one point I was bent over fighting off some branches and looked up to only see Stu’s ass. I thought, “where’s the rest of him? No please no the alder has cut him in half?!” I realized he was literally crawling through a tight gap in the alder. Phew… it’s only bushwacking and not an alder slaughter! The three others fared no better, and there was lots of cursing by all. Observing his scratched arms, Sean remarked that he looked like a self-harmer. But joy trumps pain and we felt great about the day we had. The full moon rose that night and we had a fire.
July 2nd- As part of the trip, I knew I wanted to try to get to Polar Bear Lk and maybe ascend a peak near it. Four of us left that morning with a vague plan to get there. Adrien wanted to relax and hang near camp. A stop was made at Fyles Lk, since the first visit had been rainy. A beautiful sandy beach is accessible. It’s a cool place to be. Anthony decided to chill there for a while and wait for some calving. Later he went over to Ape Gl and also scoped out some of the route for the next day’s trip toward Jacobsen Lk. The three of us carried on, but were stymied by a raging creek flowing down from the Borealis Gl. It would have been extremely dangerous to cross, so we walked up along side it into the valley between Poet and Throwback Pks. It was possible to cross up high, but by this time we decided to explore this valley instead. Stu had had enough, and after getting some up close pics of the Borealis Glacier, he retreated back towards camp. Sean and I continued north up the valley and gained a north-south trending ridge off of Poet Pk, where we got some pretty decent views of the area. We also noticed we could descend the ridge and cross the Borealis and ascend Icarus Mtn without too much difficulty. We passed on the true summit and were satisfied to top out on a subpeak on the east ridge. Poet’s north face was truly impressive, as were the sharp spires of the Edward’s Range (Blackfly to Walrus etc…) This was our turn around point, and we started the long walk back to camp, happy that we managed a whole day’s hiking without taking our boots off for a creek crossing.
Trying for a cool reflection shot....
I love this shot from the east ridge of Icarus. Of interest was the sink-hole or moulin bottom left that appeared to be draining the Borealis Glacier.
Sean is in this pic somewhere. It's a rugged ridge between Poet Pk and Second Fiddle. Talchako at centre.
Back in the valley. My water bottle is on that gentle summit somewhere
July 3rd- In the planning process, we weren’t sure if we’d budget one or two days to get to Jacobsen Lk. After viewing the lay of the land, we opted for two, and to camp somewhere along the way. We set out at mid-morning with loaded packs under clear hot skies. The highlights of this traverse were more great scenery, especially of a beautiful turquoise lake below Mt Jacobsen. Waterfalls dropped into the lake. Following an obvious bear trail through thick forest was refreshing, because we were actually on a trail. We wondered for how many years bears had passed through the area. Camping on the moraine within stones throw of huge Jacobsen Glacier was awesome. The mineral veins in bedrock beside rugged Witch Lk (not sure about this name) were really cool. On the other hand, the challenges of this traverse are creek crossings, bush-wacking, route finding through forest and class 3 terrain, slabby rock, and at this time of year, incessant insects. I had the pleasure of stepping on a wasp nest and got stung on both calves. We traveled for about 8-9 hours and made it about 2/3rds of the way to Jacobsen. Camp beside a couple tarns that night was beautiful. Tent spots were hard to come by, though, so Sean bivied under the moon and stars. He asked to borrow my pillow but I said no. I felt a bit bad until I heard him snoring soundly 15mins later.
One of many creek crossings
Throwback, Poet, and Musician Mtns
Throwback to Lombroso. Ape Lk now in the distance. The scale here is massive, even though things look close. This lake in the foreground was a real treat.
Our route took us alongside the massive Jacobsen Glacier
A view from camp on our last night. We could throw rocks onto the glacier from here. My pics did not turn out well though... Mt's Griffiths and Beezlebub on right
July 4th- We had a tentative pick up time from Jacobsen Lk arranged for 5pm. We made bets on how long the rest of the trip would be. I honestly can’t remember who won, but probably Stu, who seemed to win all the contests, like “land the rock on the ice-berg.”
Our first views of Jacobsen Lake and the terminus of the glacier were pretty rewarding. At one point we all stood pretty for a group photo. The shores of the lake are mostly steep or bushy, but we found a suitable place for pick up and waited for our planes. Sean was able to be in touch with Tweedsmuir Air and they came a bit earlier than expected. While waiting I learned from these intelligent gentlemen about various ice cream flavours and the hottest actresses.
We were pretty excited to be near our end point and to show off our sweaty armpits. Getting down to the shore would not be straight forward, though.
Yay! Finally at the shore of Jacobsen Lk. Felt good to be there. Having to wait a couple hours for a lift wasn't too bad....
The flight back to Nimpo was beautiful, although a bit rough in the little Cessna to start as we fought off a head wind. I’ve flown in a few small planes, but never got noxious like this. Thankfully I managed to hold down all my recent dehydrated meals and oatmeal. While marveling at the scenery I was really hoping I wouldn't be the guy that puked in the plane. Being nauseous earned me a nice cold Ginger Ale back at the lodge, though, so that was nice. And Anthony, being the kind and helpful dude he is, brought me a glass of water, and Adrien gave me some kind of dissolving electrolyte tablet. Sean took sympathy by asking for the $340 bucks I owed him. We said good-bye to Adrien, who usually shakes with two hands and who has friends in the area. Good fellas…
In Williams Lk the reeking crew of us ordered pizza. I’m guessing that after checking their phones Sean, Anthony, and Stu stopped at DQ for blizzards, and so Stu could claim his contest prizes.
This is a link to Stu's photos:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskf87GX7
Last edited by Candy Sack; 01-03-2016 at 10:14 PM. Reason: Fixing my pictures that didn't show up.
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Off the Beaten Path
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: vancouver, bc, Canada.
Posts: 612
That's some glacier in the background of the group shot, great trip!
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada.
Posts: 360
Hey rockstar that's quicker on the report than I expected. As usual it's the same high standard. Great TR about a great trip. Excellent photos too. Maybe I'll add some of my own.
I had a Rolo Blizzard, can't remember what the others had. Got home about 4am.
The $310 (not $340) was for the loan of the water bottle. Btw have you still got that? I can only find one and you're my prime suspect.
Cheers fella.
I had a Rolo Blizzard, can't remember what the others had. Got home about 4am.
The $310 (not $340) was for the loan of the water bottle. Btw have you still got that? I can only find one and you're my prime suspect.
Cheers fella.
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Super Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Abbotsford, B.C., Canada.
Interest: Hiking, Snowshoeing, and Photography. Enjoying the outdoors fresh air and fitness experience.
Posts: 17,917
Beautiful photo set, Clayton.
A fun read with all caste of awesome photography.
K
A fun read with all caste of awesome photography.
K
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada.
Posts: 360
Ps. Mila Kunis! We forgot Mila Kunis!
Anthony/Stu, your task is Mila Kunis, Emma Stone, Megan Fox. You know what to do.
Anthony/Stu, your task is Mila Kunis, Emma Stone, Megan Fox. You know what to do.
Scaling New Heights
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Posts: 55
Great write up, really did the whole thing justice 
Sean you forgot Eva Green!
Sean you forgot Eva Green!
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada.
Posts: 2,319
Brilliant! trip of the year on CT
thanks much for the TR, many memories of that area, such incredible landscape
thanks much for the TR, many memories of that area, such incredible landscape
________________________________
Super Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Climbing, a mountain, Canada.
Interest: climbing and spraying
Posts: 16,172
Quote:
Nobody here is claiming a "first traverse," although clearly it's not done very often.
There was a BCMC camp at Ape several years ago that had a party or two climb Talchako via Jacobsen, although iirc they probably stayed higher on the slope and didn't go down to Jacobsen Lake.
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: BC, Canada.
Posts: 1,584
Like I said....
_________________________________________________
Sean I could see how you would suspect me about the platypus, but honestly I don't have it. And did you decide to take a pic of me everytime I pointed at something or what?
Now that I have google at my fingertips, I think Megan Fox is the answer to everything I've ever wondered about anything.
_________________________________________________
Sean I could see how you would suspect me about the platypus, but honestly I don't have it. And did you decide to take a pic of me everytime I pointed at something or what?
Now that I have google at my fingertips, I think Megan Fox is the answer to everything I've ever wondered about anything.
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada.
Posts: 360
Those are called action shots Clayton. Anyway I missed your air guitar or I definitely would have taken that.
Megan Fox is definitely the answer to everything. Except maybe where my water bottle is (just joshing i think I have it).
Stu, Eva Green? I'll have to get on Google to give my considered opinion. I shall take my time and give the matter serious consideration.
Megan Fox is definitely the answer to everything. Except maybe where my water bottle is (just joshing i think I have it).
Stu, Eva Green? I'll have to get on Google to give my considered opinion. I shall take my time and give the matter serious consideration.
Scaling New Heights
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Posts: 54
Awesome TR! It look slike you really made the most of your time in the area. I tried to hike in last year from the Bella Coola Valley, but didn't quite make it. Planning to have another go in late August, so I'll keep an eye out for your water bottles I might send you a message later as I get on with planning, if you don't mind. It would be really nice to chat with someone who's been there recently.
I might send you a message later as I get on with planning, if you don't mind. It would be really nice to chat with someone who's been there recently.
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada.
Posts: 360
Quote:
Originally Posted by sma2cci
View Post
I might send you a message later as I get on with planning, if you don't mind. It would be really nice to chat with someone who's been there recently.
Super Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Climbing, a mountain, Canada.
Interest: climbing and spraying
Posts: 16,172
Fingers crossed, I'll be there in early August.
Scaling New Heights
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA.
Posts: 51
Great trip, nice shots! Mind sharing the flight/cost details? Thanks!
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: BC, Canada.
Posts: 1,584
^ Rates can be found on the Tweedsmuir Air website.
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